Pharmacological Mechanisms of Tinglizi against Chronic Heart Failure Determined by Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Uncovering the Mechanism of Chinese Hawthorn Leaf on Myocardial Ischemia Based on Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking Verification, and In Vitro Studies

Hawthorn leaf has shown therapeutic effects in the patients with myocardial ischemia. Our study combines network pharmacology, molecular docking techniques, and in vitro experiment with the aim of revealing the mechanism of hawthorn leaves in the treatment of myocardial ischemia. The active ingredients and corresponding targets of hawthorn leaf through Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology and Swiss Target Prediction databases. Targets related to myocardial ischemia were retrieved by Gene Card, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, Disgenet, and Therapeutic Targets Database databases. Cytoscape software was used to construct an ingredient-target-organ network and enrichment analysis of common targets was analyzed. Molecular docking verification of the core compound and target interactions was performed using MOE software. In vitro cell experiment was performed to verify the findings from bioinformatics analysis. Six active components and 107 potential therapeutic targets were screened. The protein-protein interaction network analysis indicated that 10 targets, including AKT1 and EGFR, were hub genes. Quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin were taken as core active components. Through pathway enrichment analysis, nearly 455 Gene Ontology entries and 77 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways were obtained, mainly including PI3K/Akt, estrogen and other signaling pathways. Molecular docking prediction showed that three main active ingredients were firmly combined with the core targets. Cellular experiments showed that quercetin alleviated oxidative damage in cells and regulated the expression of PI3K, P-AKT/AKT and Bax/Bcl-2 proteins. This study identified the potential targets of Hawthorn leaf against myocardial ischemia using network pharmacology and in vitro verification, which provided a new understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms of Hawthorn leaf in treatment of myocardial ischemia.

Identification of key genes associated with heart failure based on bioinformatics analysis and screening of traditional Chinese medicines for the prevention and treatment of heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is the final stage of heart disease. An increasing number of experiments and clinical reports have shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has many therapeutic effects and advantages in treating HF. In this study, we used bioinformatics methods to screen key genes and predict the components of Chinese herbal medicines with preventive and therapeutic effects on HF. GSE120895 and GSE21610 HF chips were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. We screened differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Weighted gene coexpression network analysis was performed to determine key modules. Genes in key modules were used for Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes Genomes analysis to determine the biological functions. Finally, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to screen out key genes, and single-sample GSEA was conducted to screen TCM compounds and effective ingredients of TCM compounds related to HF. We have selected a key module (MeTerquoise) and identified 489 DEGs, of which 357 are up regulated and 132 are down regulated. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes Genomes analyses indicated that the DEGs were associated with the extracellular matrix, fat metabolism and inflammatory response. We identified IL2, CXCR4, CCL5, THY1, CCN2, and IL7R as key genes. Single-sample GSEA showed that key genes were mainly related to energy metabolism, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, extracellular matrix, and immunity. Finally, a total of 70 TCM compounds and 30 active ingredients of TCM compounds were identified. Bioinformatics methods were applied to preliminarily predict the key genes and TCM compounds involved in HF. These results provide theoretical support for the treatment of HF with TCM compounds and provide targets and research strategies for the development of related new Chinese medicines.

Investigation of the Potential Mechanism of Alpinia officinarum Hance in Improving Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Objective

We used network pharmacology, molecular docking, and cellular analysis to explore the pharmacodynamic components and action mechanism of Alpinia officinarum Hance (A. officinarum) in improving type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods

The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed to predict the potential targets and mechanism of A. officinarum toward improving T2DM. The first 9 core targets and potential active compounds were docked using Discovery Studio 2019. Finally, IR-HepG2 cells and qPCR were applied to determine the mRNA expression of the top 6 core targets of the PPI network.

Results

A total of 29 active ingredients and 607 targets of A. officinarum were obtained. T2DM-related targets overlapped with 176 targets. The core targets of the PPI network were identified as AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1), an activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), tumor protein p53 (TP53), SRC proto-oncogene, nonreceptor tyrosine kinase (SRC), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), albumin (ALB), mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG). A. officinarum performs an antidiabetic role via the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, the HIF-1 signaling pathway, the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, and others, according to GO and KEGG enrichment analyses. Molecular docking revealed that the binding ability of diarylheptanoid active components in A. officinarum to core target protein was higher than that of flavonoids. The cell experiments confirmed that the A. officinarum extracts improved the glucose uptake of IR-HepG2 cells and AKT expression while inhibiting the STAT3, TNF, TP53, SRC, and EGFR mRNA expression.

Conclusion

A. officinarum Hance improves T2DM by acting on numerous components, multiple targets, and several pathways. Our results lay the groundwork for the subsequent research and broaden the clinical application of A. officinarum Hance.